A single brand for integrated mobile, internet and fixed-line communications.

Orange, one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies and part of the France Telecom group, today announces the launch of the Orange brand in Spain.

As of Tuesday 3rd October, France Telecom Spain, the collective name for the group of mobile, internet and fixed-lines companies owned by the France Telecom Group will introduce the Orange brand, thereby signifying a new era in integrated telecommunications in the Spanish market. The evolution of Orange from mobile operator to total communications provider, is at the heart of France Telecom’s NExT strategy for integrated telecommunications, which will see the company use Orange as its flagship brand worldwide. Spain is the latest market in the France Telecom Group to introduce the Orange brand, strengthening Orange’s position as Europe’s second largest mobile and internet provider. Orange now reaches more than 100 million customers across the world.

In Spain, the existing brands of Amena, the mobile operator purchased by France Telecom in July 2005 and Wanadoo, the internet services provider will both be replaced by the Orange brand. In addition, today also sees the disappearance of the Equant and Uni2 brands in Spain with the launch of Orange Business Services, representing a single banner for Spain’s business communications services for large and multinational businesses. Business customers in Spain will now benefit from Orange’s expertise in business across 220 countries and territories with one of the industry’s broadest product and service portfolios.

Didier Lombard, Chief Executive Officer, France Telecom Group, said: “Spain is a significant and important market for our integrated operator strategy. With our fixed, mobile and internet assets in Spain, we are ideally positioned to implement our NExT strategy for delivering simple, innovative and convergent services to our customers. We look forward to building on the strong performance achieved in this market to date.”

Sanjiv Ahuja, Chief Executive Officer, Orange SA, said: “”The Orange brand has long proved to be a unique competitive advantage in other countries where we have launched it and this is because it stands for a way of doing business that aims to enhance people’s lives by removing barriers and delivering straightforward, simple-to-use products and services that are based on an intimate knowledge of our customers’ needs. We are very excited to be extending the Orange ‘experience’ to customers in Spain.”

Belarmino Garcia, Chief Executive Officer, France Telecom Spain, commented:” I am proud of what we have achieved to date and am looking forward to a new era in our company’s history – as Spain’s first integrated operator. Being part of an international group with one of the world’s most powerful brands provides us with the opportunity to launch something new and exciting that will undoubtedly propel our business forward in the market place.”

Orange customers in Spain can look forward to the following new improvements in the customer experience including:

Customer service

- A single portal, orangees – providing customers with access to products, services and content for fixed, mobile, internet and television. Customers can add new services, select entertainment on-demand, and communicate through this portal
- A single customer service number (1414) – simplifying the way that customers communicate with Orange in Spain
- A single customer loyalty programme – beginning in 2007, the initiative will reward Orange fixed, mobile, internet and television customers.
- More than 4,000 points of sale – will be completely redesigned to encompass key Orange elements, allowing customers to experience an attractive new retail environment for all services.

Products and service innovation

- The “Unique” Phone – Orange extends the launch of the Unique phone to Spain – offering customers a phone that switches seamlessly between the fixed and mobile networks depending on the user’s location. This product is scheduled for launch in December.
- Mobile Broadband with “Business Everywhere” – the Group’s familiar business product has been extended to Spain, allowing busy people to connect to the internet even when they are away from their office, providing simple and easy to use mobile access

- Quadruple Play – providing households with all their entertainment and communication needs free of usage or time restrictions. The service includes round-the-clock ADSL connection, unlimited calls to fixed phones nationwide, fixed-to-mobile and mobile-to-fixed calls, and television
- Orange TV – since this product’s extremely successful launch in Spain last June, coverage has already been expanded three times to reach more than 4 million households. Next year, Orange in Spain will launch ADSL television in high definition, which is currently in the testing phase, but promises to deliver exceptional sound and image quality.
- Orange World – customers accessing this new WAP portal from their Orange mobile, will have access to a new world of content and services.
- SIM+ – the high-capacity SIM+ card will enable customers to store large amounts of data such as MP3s, photos, videos, etc., on their phones, eliminating the need for additional memory.
- New music services: including a recommendation service for music by both new and established artists. This service analyses every musical selection in order to make further recommendations. Also, with Enjoy your music, Orange in Spain will offer the best in music for your mobile phone, with the option to download complete MP3-quality songs to your mobile phone and personal computer at the same time and at no extra cost.
- Numbers Plus – allowing Orange fixed line customers to make up to 1,000 minutes of free calls from their fixed phone to any Orange mobile. Also, each of the mobiles selected numbers will enjoy free calls to their fixed phone (up to 1,000 minutes per month).
- Enjoy Orange – allows customers to make unlimited phone calls during a specific period of time for a nominal monthly fee. With ‘Enjoy your moment’, customers can pick any 2 hours each day in which to make unlimited calls anywhere nationwide, on both fixed or mobile phones; ‘Enjoy your weekend’ allows customers to call anywhere nationwide for free on weekends, on both fixed and mobile phones.

Orange Business Services

In addition, Orange in Spain will leverage its mobile and fixed assets to provide its large and multinational business customers with customised, consistent solutions including:
- Triple play for Business: The first convergent service (IP telephony, data and mobile) on the Spanish market that marries the advantages of IP telephony and mobile VPN services. This translates into a convergence of prices and services, with a single plan for speed dial, a single directory service, a unified voicemail box, repeat dial and three-way conferencing, etc.
- International VPN and Roaming for Business – Orange extends its competitive international and roaming rates, regardless of the international carrier used when travelling. International VPN provides an international extension of the nationwide ‘virtual private network’ with special rates for calls between Orange mobiles within the same company.

The delegate for Innovation, Science and Business and the delegate for Equality have presented this initiative, in collaboration with the FundaciГіn Vodafone

The delegate for Innovation, Science and Business, Francisco ГЃlvaro Julio, accompanied by the delegate for Equality and Social Welfare, MВЄ JosГ© Castro and the scientific and cultural Advisor of the FundaciГіn Vodafone, Javier del Arco today presented its training campaign, known as “MГіvil cerca de Ti” [Keeping a Mobile Handy] in the Junta de AndalucГ­a’s Day Centre for the Elderly in Triana, to help the elderly learn how to use a mobile phone. This initiative, which will benefit more than 10,000 elderly people from all over Andalusia, is the result of the co-operation agreement signed in April 2005 between the Department of Innovation, Science and Business and the FundaciГіn Vodafone with the aim of developing the Information Society in Andalusia. The DelegaciГіn provincial Igualdad y Bienestar Social [Provincial Department of Equality and Social Welfare] is also co-operating in this Plan, within the framework of actions established for the Innovation and Modernisation of Andalusia Plan.

Since the signature of the agreement with the ConsejerГ­a de InnovaciГіn, Ciencia y Empresa [Department of Innovation, Science and Business], the FundaciГіn Vodafone has been developing a series of projects in co-operation with the Junta de AndalucГ­a, prominent among which is this campaign to teach the elderly how to use the mobile phone in a friendly environment, eliminating the technological barrier which these devices symbolise for this group of population. To implement this training initiative, approximately one hundred thousand euros have been used of the nine million initially committed by Vodafone and the FundaciГіn Vodafone to conduct projects in Andalusia until 2007, as a result of the above agreement.

The campaign “MГіvil cerca de Ti” aims to develop 400 training courses in 163 Day Centres for the Elderly, in an attempt to explain how to use a mobile properly to almost 10,000 elderly people all over Andalusia. 84 courses are being given in the province of Seville in Day Centres in Macarena, Dos Hermanas, HeliГіpolis, Lora del RГ­o, Utrera, Puebla del RГ­o, Osuna, SanlГєcar la Mayor, Ciudad JardГ­n, Cerro del ГЃguila, Triana, Marchena, La Algaba, San Juan de Aznalfarache, Villanueva del RГ­o y Minas, MorГіn de la Frontera, Arahal, El Viso del Alcor, Mairena del Alcor, Casariche, PeГ±aflor, AlcalГЎ de GuadaГ­ra, Г‰cija, El Coronil, Coria, Lebrija, Carmona, Los Palacios and Camas, spread over the months of April to November this year.

Each course, with a minimum of 12 students and a maximum of 25, will last approximately 3 hours, will be given by two specialised trainers and is divided into four blocks: a brief, theoretical introduction, performing initial actions, training exercises and finally putting into practice the applications taught, with a summary and generalisation.

Specifically, the monitors – engineering students, particularly from fields of Telecommunications or I.T. – will demonstrate practical skills such as making and receiving a call, sending and reading SMS messages, configuration of the address book, etc. On top of this, at the end of each course, there will be a draw where the prize is a Vodafone Simply mobile.

Among the main aims of the FundaciГіn Vodafone EspaГ±a is promoting the implementation of projects to help use new mobile communications technologies to aid in the integration of vulnerable groups into social life and the labour market, and promoting and performing studies and activities which will spread knowledge and awareness and bring certain groups closer to the information society (with publications, courses, seminars, post-graduate courses…).

Palm Experience Delivered on Windows Mobile With Push Email, 3G/UMTS Speeds

Palm (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 750v smartphone, the first Treo smartphone to take advantage of Vodafone’s 3G/UMTS network. The Treo 750v brings the Palm experience on Microsoft(R)’s Windows Mobile(R) 5.0 to Europe for the first time. The new Treo 750v will be available first to Vodafone customers in the following countries: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and other regions by the end of the calendar year.

“The new Treo 750v smartphone — made available first in Europe — on the Vodafone 3G/UMTS network is Palm’s latest salvo to reach more customers in more regions with an ever-expanding line of compelling Treo smartphones,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer from Palm. “Expanding the Treo footprint globally is a key focus for Palm, and with collaborative marketing investments in Europe from Palm, Vodafone and Microsoft, we are confident we can captivate mobile professionals and businesses and help them be more productive in the office and on the go.”

The Treo 750v combines the hallmark Palm experience of a multifeatured mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing and organization software all in a new compact design.(1) The new smartphone comes with Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for Windows Mobile 5.0, which includes Direct Push Technology and enhanced security features free and out of the box.(2) It is also fully compatible with Vodafone Business Email, giving remote access to enterprise and Internet-based email accounts. These business-ready solutions address the need for a robust push-email solution that can be deployed easily by small businesses to global enterprises.

Unique to the Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile 5.0 is a suite of software enhancements developed by Palm that underscores its brand promise of fast access, ease of use and simplicity. Examples include the following:

– Today Screen enhancements, which feature the ability to “dial by name” with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials;

– Ability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voicemail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls for easy navigation;

– Ability to ignore a call and quickly compose a text message, such as “In a meeting” or “Can’t talk”; and

– Dedicated messaging application for SMS/MMS that is organized in a “chat thread” so users can reference prior messages and use emoticons for a personal touch.

“The new Treo 750v smartphone, when combined with our high-speed 3G/UMTS network and push email, makes an invaluable tool for our business customers,” said Oliver Mauss, global director of Business Marketing, Vodafone. “Our commitment to help customers increase their productivity and make the most of their business and personal time will be further enhanced by the addition of this new innovative device to our range of business solutions.”

“We’re excited to team up with Palm and Vodafone to launch a Windows Mobile-based Treo in Europe. We’re seeing significant adoption of mobile applications among business users in the region, and the Treo is an attractive proposition for organizations considering mobile deployments,” said Nick Barley, business and marketing officer, Microsoft U.K. Limited. “The Treo 750v builds on the power and flexibility of Windows Mobile, Palm’s unique design and user experience, and service through one of the world’s leading mobile operators to deliver a winning solution that connects professionals to their critical information while on the go.”

Benefits of Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition

The Windows Mobile-based Treo smartphones from Palm provide customers with a compelling combination of powerful software, an award-winning form factor, and the ease of use long associated with the Palm experience. Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition provides many user benefits:

– Touch screen: Makes surfing websites, gathering data and navigating forms and applications much easier;

– Copy and paste: Additional functionality provides added productivity;

– Built-in viewers and editors: Ability to view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel(R) files and “roundtrip” those edits back to original files on the user’s desktop, and view PowerPoint(R) presentations and PDF files;

– Breadth of applications: More than 18,000 commercial applications available for Windows Mobile; and

– Saving: Ability to save images and sounds from a website.

Treo 750v Features and Benefits

– Powerful Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 with Palm enhancements;

– Integrated SMS/MMS with chat view and dedicated inbox;

– Mobile access to multiple business and personal email accounts;

– 3G/UMTS network for fast data access;

– 1.3-megapixel digital camera that also captures video;

– Windows Media(R) Player 10 Mobile for music and video;

– Built-in Bluetooth(R) wireless technology enhanced to support Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets;

– Mini-SD expansion slot; and

– 240×240 transflective (TFT) touch screen.